The Buddy situation
by theblindwriter95
Summary: After becoming friends, Sofia is excited to finally have Rebecca over for a sleepover and to understand blindness a lot more than what she experienced while wearing the blindfold. But she's scared that Buddy might bite Rebecca again and isn't sure what to do for her oldest and newest friend she's made since the accident.
1. Chapter 1

The Buddy Situation

Summary: After becoming friends, Sofia is excited to finally have Rebecca over for a sleepover and to understand blindness a lot more than what she experienced while wearing the blindfold. But she's scared that Buddy might bite Rebecca again and isn't sure what to do for her oldest and newest friend she's made since the accident.

Chapter One

"What are you do Sof?" James grinned, seeing Sofia race around her room. "You got an excited gleam in your eye."

"Mother and Daddy decided to let her have a sleepover this morning," Amber answered, putting up some of her sister's Braille books. "We had to explain that Rebecca was friendly now."

"They got a little uncomfortable with me inviting her," Sofia added, hearing Buddy sniff around. "But they know about what Buddy did."

"I can't really say that I blame them, Sof," James admitted, "We've all told Mom and Dad about what Rebecca's done in the past, and now you want to have her here for a sleepover? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad she's being nice to you now, but are you sure it's a good idea to have her in the same place as Buddy? What did they say about them being together?"

"Buddy's going to be outside with Rex," Sofia replied. "If Rebecca wants to see them, we need to go with her, just to make sure Buddy doesn't do something he shouldn't."

"That's a good idea," James admitted, "But what do you plan to do when she's here?"

"I haven't thought of it. I've been trying to think of how to discipline Buddy," Sofia admitted.

Buddy whimpered softly, licking Sofia's hand. He didn't want to be reminded as a bad puppy.

Well, I heard that Mother and Daddy got together with the fairies after they agreed to let you have your sleepover with Rebecca," Amber spoke up, "They said that if Buddy behaved himself, he'd be allowed to come back on the last week of school."

"That's good," Sofia smiled.

"But," Amber continued, "If he acts up, he won't be able to come back to Royal Prep, and he won't be allowed to come with you to Ever Realm Academy."

"I understand," Sofia nodded.

"I'll be good, Sofia! I promise!" Buddy whimpered, letting out a mournful howl.

"I know you will Buddy," Sofia whispered. "But you can't bite Rebecca."

"I know. She's a friend now," Buddy barked, not wanting Sofia upset with him again.

"I think Buddy understands too," James smirked, petting Buddy behind the ears.

"But you know that it's just a safety precaution that he stays outside," Amber agreed. "We'll make sure he has all his favorite toys with him, including the second Sofia doll James made."

Sofia smiled. She had heard that James made a second Sofia doll for Buddy, as a friend for the one he made when she had a long lesson with Cedric. Buddy had decided that he'd use the first one as an inside doll, and the new one as an outside doll, so no matter where he was, he'd always have his friend with him.

"Thanks for making another new friend for Buddy, James," she said as she felt the new doll, and listened as Amber told her that the doll was wearing another of her old doll dresses. The original one wore purple, but the new one wore red. Not that it mattered; Buddy couldn't see colors, but he still liked having a second doll.

And it was better than him having to get the first doll dirty. Amber didn't like it when he would get it dirty.

Buddy gently dragged the first Sofia doll by the hair before placing her by Sofia's feet.

"Buddy is this a way of saying you're sorry?" Sofia mussed, feeling for the doll.

"I promise I'll never do anything like that again," Buddy promised.

"I believe you, Buddy," Sofia murmured. "But for now, you and your new friend will be fine outside. You can even let Rex play with her."

"Okay," Buddy smiled. He always liked letting Rex play with his toys, even though Rex told him that the Sofia doll was his alone.

A little later, Sofia, James, and Amber were leading Rebecca to Sofia's room.

"Is Buddy around?" Rebecca asked, looking around.

"No, as per our agreement, he's outside," Amber assured her, "We'll keep an eye on him if you want to visit him."

"Okay," Rebecca agreed. "Sofia, once again, I'm so sorry I did that. I didn't mean to be so rough when I tried to play with him."

"Don't worry about it, Rebecca," Sofia smiled, "We all forgave you, and Buddy knows what he did was wrong."

"He thought I was going to be mean didn't he?" Rebecca frowned.

"Well when you've been mean to our sister since the accident, people or dogs won't exactly accept you right away," Amber admitted.

"But we like you," James assured with a smile. "And you'll be with Sof tonight. She's sometimes prone to nightmares."

"And wetting the bed if it's a bad one," Amber added.

"Amber! James!" Sofia groaned, feeling her cheeks burn in embarrassment.

"It's all right, Sofia; I've heard you talk about your nightmares at school," Rebecca assured her. "And I've heard about the bedwetting too."

"Great," Sofia muttered, hiding her face in her hands.

"Rebecca, what do you say we forget about all the bad stuff and focus on having fun?" Amber suggested, pulling Sofia into a hug.

"I'd like that," Rebecca smiled. "It'll be easier for me to get used to..."

"Having friends?" Sofia guessed.

"Yes. Sofia, why don't you suggest what we do first?" Rebecca offered, looking around the room. "Like those books."

"My Braille books?" Sofia asked, feeling one of the books Rebecca offered her. "I'll be happy to show you how I read them."

"I've actually watched you read those on the playground sometimes," Rebecca admitted. "I'm sorry I always made fun of you for not knowing how to read."

"It's okay, Rebecca," Sofia smiled. "I always had trouble with Braille, but Mister Cedric says I get better after each lesson."

"And do Amber and James know Braille too?" Rebecca asked.

"We're getting the hang of it," James smiled. "Cedric sometimes lets the family sit in on Sofia's lessons, and we learn what she learns."

"It would be nice to read it outside. Everything looks oh um feels nice there," Rebecca grinned sheepishly.

"Rebecca, it's okay," Amber said, squeezing her hand. "Sofia doesn't mind."

"I just don't want to upset her," Rebecca sighed. "The old me already done enough of that."

"I'm getting used to saying things like look and see again," Sofia smiled. "Amber and James always told me that I never had to be embarrassed about saying those words, but I didn't listen until recently."

"You can say those words as much as you want," Amber smiled. "We can even teach Rebecca some of the things we learn."

"What sort of things do you learn while Sofia learns Braille?" Rebecca asked.

"How to organize her food like a clock," James grinned as he helped Sofia out of her room.

"And make sure she has things she can feel," Amber added.

"I don't get it. What do you mean?" Rebecca frowned.

"Normally when you put food on your plate, you just put it anywhere," James tried to explain, "But for Sofia, or any blind person, they can't tell where the food is. Amber and I read that setting up the person's food like a clock face is a way for the person to be able to find it."

"Why don't we show her, rather than try to explain?" Amber suggested. "I brought some things out for a picnic for later, but maybe we should demonstrate what we mean."

"Okay," James agreed. He gave Rebecca an empty plate, and set out some food. "Now Rebecca, imagine that the plate is a clock face, and make up a plate of food."

"Okay," Rebecca nodded, "So...these chips would go at...three o'clock, and the carrot sticks would go at...ten o'clock, and the sandwich goes at...seven o'clock? And the juice goes at...one forty-five?"

"Good job! You just made your first plate for Sofia!" Amber smiled. "When we first started doing this, we had to borrow Baileywick's pocketwatch so we'd know how to do that."

"So that's the nice old guy that let me in! I like him," Rebecca grinned.

"Baileywick usually is a bit protective of Sofia since the accident," Amber explained with a grin.

"But not as much as Dad was," James recalled with a frown.

"Wait what accident? And what do you mean your dad was protective?" Rebecca asked in confusion. "And why isn't Sofia with us anymore? Does she wonder off a lot?"

"I think I know where she went," James looked around for a minute, "Amber, why don't you tell Rebecca about what happened, and I'll go find Sofia."

"Okay, or maybe I'll wait until you two are back," Amber agreed.

"Maybe we should wait. I wouldn't want Sofia upset with either of us," Rebecca suggested.

"That's not a bad idea," James grinned.

"But where does Sofia hide? And how can she walk when she can't see?" Rebecca asked in worry. "I don't want her hurt."

"She remembers where the stables are," Amber replied, seeing James go off in the direction of the stables, "She sometimes visits her flying horse, and tells him her secrets."

A few minutes later, Sofia and James came back. It turned out that Sofia had wanted to check on Buddy, and James thought he and Sofia might like to take a walk with him and Rex. They took the dogs for a quick walk, then Sofia had asked if they could bring them over to where Rebecca and Amber were.

"If you're sure, Sof," James had repeated what he'd said.

"I'm sure," Sofia replied.

"Nice dogs. F-Friendly won't-bite-me dogs," Rebecca whimpered as Amber squeezed her hand.

Buddy sniffed her, hearing Rex growl before barking at him for scaring Rebecca.

"She's a friend now," Buddy yipped, pulling Rex away from a frightened Rebecca. "We don't scare her!"

"Okay, but I've heard about what she's done too," Rex muttered. "I'm just being nice because I see James with her."

"Do you want to play with my Sofia doll?" Buddy asked, nosing the doll toward him.

"That does help," Rex smiled as he started gnawing on it.

"It's nice of Buddy to share his toys with Rex," James smiled.

At the same time, Buddy dropped his second doll at Rebecca's feet and did his bowing trick for her.

"T-Thank you," Rebecca smiled, taking the doll in her arms.

"See? I'm nice!" Buddy barked, licking her hand happily.

"Buddy, she can't understand you!" Sofia whispered with a giggle.

"Shall we play with your dolls, Buddy?" Amber smiled, taking up Buddy's second Sofia doll.

"Can we?" Rebecca asked.

Buddy responded by dropping one of the dolls into her lap and nudging her shoulder with his nose.

"You are a good dog, Buddy," Rebecca smiled, holding out her hand and letting Buddy sniff it.

"Maybe Buddy can join us for our picnic," Sofia suggested with a smile.

"And I want to know about the accident," Rebecca added, seeing Buddy nuzzle against her.

"Will you be all right with us telling Rebecca about this, Sofia?" Amber murmured, knowing that Sofia had always hated hearing about how she lost her sight.

"I'll be fine," Sofia nodded, but she kept a firm hold of Buddy. She knew he was behaving around Rebecca, but she wanted him to be there for comfort.

James was also telling Rebecca about the accident, but he was keeping a firm hold of Rex to comfort himself. He knew how he'd reacted, and how he'd wanted to go after Cedric.

Amber watched the two siblings with their respective dogs who nuzzled their owners before giving them sloppy kisses.

The accident had been the hardest for her sister but Rebecca wanted to know. Especially with her now being nicer.

By the time James and Sofia had told Rebecca the story, Rebecca was crying almost as hard as the three of them when the accident had first happened. "I'm so sorry that happened," she said when she was able to talk again.

"We all were," Amber said as she hugged Buddy. "That was the worst day of our lives."

"I've always been protective of Sofia, but I hated that I couldn't protect her from that," James added, burying his face in Rex's fur, but he smiled as Rex licked him.

Buddy wiggled out of Amber's arms, leaving her to hug Rex's other side. He went over to Rebecca and curled up on her lap.

"I see Buddy likes you now," Miranda grinned, seeing the display of affection.

"Your majesty!" Rebecca blushed, looking up from Buddy's cuddling. "I'm sorry about before."

"You seem to have learned your lesson, and Buddy's being very well behaved around you," Miranda smiled, hugging Sofia and Amber.

"We'll tell the fairies about this, and if they agree, Buddy will be welcomed back to Royal Prep," Roland added, pulling James into a hug.

"You hear that, Buddy? You can come to school with Sofia again," Rebecca smiled, gently scratching Buddy's ears.

"And maybe to Ever Realm Academy?" Sofia asked.

"If the fairies say yes, then yes," Miranda smiled.

Buddy yelped happily, putting his paws on Rebecca's dress.

"Hey! This is brand new!" Rebecca pouted playfully. "I picked it out because it's soft enough for Sofia to feel!"

"You did?" Sofia asked in surprise.

"I had my royal dressmaker remake my old dresses," Rebecca admitted softly. "I just wanted someway to say that I'm sorry about what I did. Including the food incident."

"Oh yes, the food incident," Amber muttered. She recalled how Rebecca had made Sofia trip with her jump rope, making her spill food all over herself. "That was before Sofia got Buddy. I remember that it took Violet a while to clean the food off of Sofia's dress, and she was really proud of herself for dressing herself without any problems that day."

"I promise I'll never do anything like that again," Rebecca murmured. "I remember that James was writing down everything I did that day."

"And I still have it," James grimaced. "Especially if you ever tease Sofia again."

"I won't be doing that again!" Rebecca snapped, frightening Buddy.

"James, please don't bring it up again," Sofia frowned, gently petting Buddy. "Buddy's just getting used to Rebecca being a friend."

"You're right," James agreed. "I'm sorry, Rebecca. I didn't mean to make you upset. I just get so protective of Sofia when someone's mean to her."

"That's what big brothers do," Sofia smiled.

"And Buddy, I'm sorry I mentioned that," James added, turning to Buddy. "You've been really good around Rebecca and I didn't mean to rile anybody up like that."

"It's okay, James; if I can be protective of Sofia, so can you!" Buddy smiled, jumping on James and licking him.

Rebecca giggled, watching the interaction as she tried to explain to Sofia what she was seeing.

"I got tongue tied the first time I tried to," Miranda smiled sympathetically. "It's not easy."

"Especially at a ball," Amber smiled. "Remember our last one?"

"Oh yes," Miranda smiled. "There was so much activity going on that it was hard to describe everything at once."

"You did a great job, Mom," Sofia smiled.

"And you did a wonderful job when you, Amber, and James were dancing," Roland added.

"Buddy's a good dancer too!" Rebecca smiled. "I've seen him turning around in circles in dance class, and Sofia has to whisper to him where to turn!"

"It's not Buddy's fault he has four left feet!" James grinned.

"Or maybe he just likes to chase his tail," Rebecca joked with a smile. "All dogs do it!"

"Not all of them know how to bow or get Sofia her dress each morning," Amber grinned.

"Or sneak themselves dog treats when Sof isn't looking," James added with a smirk.

"What's that about treats?" Sofia smirked.

"I love you?" Buddy asked innocently, offering her one of his dolls.

"Butter her up with toys. That might work for now," Rex barked, nuzzling Buddy. "But not when you're a big dog."

Buddy whined in confusion, sniffling around before he spotted the picnic basket.

"Don't worry, Buddy; we brought dog and puppy treats too," Amber smiled as she took them out of the basket.

Rebecca picked one of the puppy treats up, and she smiled as Buddy licked it out of her hand. "Good boy, Buddy! I'm glad you and I are friends now," she said as she gently scratched him behind the ears. She smiled as Rex sniffed her hand, and she offered him a dog treat. "And you too, Rex."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Buddy was trying to be Rebecca's friend but it wasn't easy with Sofia's stories of her being teased floating around in his head.

Chewing on his Sofia doll helped him calm himself as he watched Amber put down the picnic blanket.

He knew what that meant. Sofia needed him to be beside her as she would eat and if Buddy was lucky, take a snack to Rex.

They weren't allowed to have human food but Buddy knew that James or Amber would sometimes sneak him food behind Sofia's back if he was behaving.

However, Buddy knew that he had to make a better impression on Rebecca, and that meant no sneaking snacks.

"Remember, you two, no sneaking Buddy snacks," Sofia whispered to James and Amber as they helped her with her plate.

"Right," James agreed. "Normally we'd give Buddy a little something, but we want everything to go smoothly."

"I won't sneak Buddy anything either," Rebecca agreed, but she smiled as Buddy nudged her hand.

"He's starting to like you," James smiled.

"You think so?" Rebecca asked with a smile.

Buddy playfully tugged on her dress as an answer before running back to Sofia.

"Okay, Buddy," Sofia smiled. "But how about we eat first, then we'll play together some more?"

"Okay," Buddy yipped happily.

She pet him behind the ears before feeling her plate.

"Here let me help," Rebecca offered. "It'll get me some practice."

Rebecca set up the plate just like she had learned from James and Amber. She consulted the pocket watch Amber had borrowed from Baileywick, since she had told him she and James wanted to teach Rebecca how to help Sofia. "I think I've got it," Rebecca said as she passed the plate over to Sofia. "The sandwich is at eight o'clock, the chips are at four o'clock, the carrots are at two o'clock, and your juice is at one o'clock."

"Great job, Rebecca!" Amber smiled.

"You've really gotten the hang of setting plates up," James agreed. "Maybe after lunch, we'll start teaching you Braille."

"I don't know. There'll be dots. How can I read dots?!" Rebecca asked softly, taking a bite of her own sandwich.

"It's not dots. It's a Braille cell," James grinned. "Sofia knows that it's only six dots. And each dot can form letters of the alphabet."

"And they make words?" Rebecca guessed. "Sofia probably has it hard since she's been used to print."

"It is hard when you're starting out," Sofia admitted. "But I get help from Mr. Cedric, and even James."

"How do they help you?" Rebecca asked.

"Mr. Cedric has me feel the Braille dots, and asks me what the letter is," Sofia started. "I spell the words as I figure out what the letters are, but sometimes I hear James whispering the words to me, or he gets the thing I'm trying to spell."

"Isn't that cheating?" Rebecca asked.

"James calls it helping," Amber smirked. "The family sometimes sits in on Sofia's lessons, and we have to keep James from getting what Sofia needs, so she can learn it herself."

"He's gotten on Mr. Cedric's nerves for trying to help me," Sofia added with a smile.

"I cannot imagine that!" Rebecca giggled.

"It's true. I heard him," Amber smirked. "Cedric wants Sofia to learn on her own."

"Is it my fault I'm good with words and spelling?" James asked innocently.

"No, but Sofia needs to learn to master Braille on her own," Amber smirked. "She can't have you cheating...I mean helping her all the time!"

"What does he have James do while Sofia's learning Braille spelling?" Rebecca asked.

"He helps clean Cedric's workshop," Amber started, "He also writes down any potion ingredients that he needs to restock."

"But we still hear him whispering the answers to me," Sofia smirked.

"Here it comes," James smirked.

"What's coming?" Rebecca asked in surprise.

"Sofia's Cedric impression," Amber answered with a smile. "It was a hit at last week's family game night."

"Okay," Sofia smirked, "'Merlin's mushrooms, Prince James, let Sofia do this herself! While I admire your talent for wordplay, you can't always be there to help her! Now do me a favor and alphabetize my books!'"

"By author or subject?" James played along.

Rebecca giggled along with Amber. Sofia had Cedric's voice down perfectly. She remembered that she had gotten the chance to see them working together in a potions class once at school. She knew that this was before she became her friend, but she had actually found it interesting to watch them work together, and hadn't made too many comments. However, when Amber had glanced back at her, she'd tried to hide her fascination with her usual sneer.

she now regretted it as she ate her lunch, smiling at Buddy who looked at her with playful eyes. He still scared her a little but not as much.

He was just a puppy after all.

"You want me to play with you?!" Rebecca gasped. "After everything I said and did to your owner?"

Buddy curled up at her side and sniffed her hand. "I forgive you, Rebecca!"

Sofia smiled and nodded, since Rebecca couldn't understand what he was saying.

Rebecca smiled as Buddy dropped one of his Sofia dolls into her lap. "Thank you, Buddy," she said as she made the doll kiss him. "You really are a nice dog."

Buddy yipped happily, tugging on the Sofia doll playfully. Rebecca tugged back, smiling as Buddy growled in a not aggressive way.

"He loves this game," James smirked.

"Other than chew on Sofia's shoes?" Amber asked teasingly.

"He does likes to chew the occasional shoe now and then," Sofia smirked. "But as long as it's one of our old shoes, we don't mind, right, Amber?"

"Right," Amber smiled.

"If you want, I'll look through my closet when I'm at home, and I'll find some shoes that I don't wear anymore, or I can't wear, and I'll give those to Buddy too," Rebecca offered.

"I think he'd like that," Sofia smiled as they finished lunch. "Now, Rebecca, when we get back inside, we'll go to my room and start your Braille lessons. I've got a whole stack of Braille books that I use to help me read. Mom and Dad even found some Braille books in the village bookstore for me."

"Some of the books that Amber and I use are a little harder for her to read so Mom and Dad make sure to get her books with words that she knows but if she doesn't know them, she uses her fingers to spell it out,' James explained.

"Without you helping her," Amber smirked.

"If you need someone to distract James when Sofia's doing a Braille lesson, I can help," Rebecca suggested. "I've seen him when we do those vocabulary games in Miss Merryweather's class, and he's amazing! I know I'm not as good as he is, but I can ask the fairies for some puzzle books, copy some of the pages, and have him do those with me."

"It'll have to be a book he's never seen before," Amber warned.

"I'll find some," Rebecca assured her.

"Good luck," Sofia playfully as Buddy and Rex licked her face. "Hey! Stop it!'

"They just want to play Sof,' James grinned.

"Buddy get off Sofia!" Rebecca giggled. "She has to teach me braille!"

"That's a favorite game of Rex's that he taught Buddy," Amber grinned. "The dogs would pretend to be asleep, James would come up to them to check on them, and they'd jump on him and lick him!"

"That's always a fun game!" Buddy yipped.

"Buddy, can Sofia, James, and Amber teach me Braille?" Rebecca asked, gently scratching Buddy's ears. "We can all play again later."

"Okay," Buddy smiled, licking her hand.

"Good boy," Rebecca smiled.

"Most of the time," Sofia smirked, grabbing his harness.

When he knew that Sofia was grabbing him by the harness, Buddy knew that he had to lead her back with no distractions. Even squirrels.

Buddy liked the squirrels but what he liked even more was Sofia's safety.

Sofia smiled as Buddy led her inside with no problems. "Good boy, Buddy!" she smiled as Buddy led everyone to her room.

"I do what Rex says and I pretend the squirrels aren't there!" Buddy smiled as he curled up at the foot of her bed.

"That's always good advice," Sofia whispered. "But you're getting better every day."

"How do you know where to put everything where Sofia needs it?" Rebecca asked, looking around the room.

"We've had Penny come over a few times to help with that," James explained. "She told us about how her own bedroom is set up, and we tried to copy the style for Sofia."

"And Buddy usually rests when in Sofia's room," Amber added with a smile. "Sofia naps with him."

"Only when I get really tired," Sofia grumbled, sensing James smirk. "And I don't get cranky!"

"Aren't they the same thing?" James joked.

"I don't think so," Rebecca smiled, looking through Sofia's bookshelf.

"That's a good one," Sofia smiled, feeling the dots on the cover. "That's one of the first books Mr. Cedric had me read."

"Could you show me how you read it?" Rebecca asked.

"Sure!" Sofia grinned, gently taking the books from Rebecca's hands.

"We've read this one too," Amber smiled, recognizing the cover.

"That's the first book Cedric had us practice Braille with," James added. "He also teaches us the Braille alphabet, and everyone has an alphabet and number chart in our rooms so we can practice or help Sofia if she has questions."

"Do you think he could make one for me?" Rebecca asked.

"I don't see why not," Amber reasoned, "Some of our friends also have charts like ours, since they want to learn Braille too, if they work with Sofia."

"But we might have to explain that you're a friend now," Sofia smiled nervously.

"You told everyone about me?" Rebecca asked, a little hurt.

"You weren't nice then," James reminded.

"But we'll stay right by your side if we get together with them," Sofia assured Rebecca as she started crying.

"And we'll stay with you now," James agreed.

"I know they were trying to help you sometimes," Rebecca sniffled. "I'd try to cause trouble, and Hildegard or Cleo would talk to me about fashion tips or questions, and Hugo would tell me to go someplace else."

"We were going to save this for a surprise, but maybe you should know it now," Amber spoke up, "We invited them over for a playdate tomorrow. We told Mom and Dad that since we were giving you a second chance, they should too. The fairies agreed with the idea, and they'll also be here. They'll mostly be keeping an eye on Buddy, but don't feel bad if they sometimes watch you too."

"But we shall let sleeping Buddies lie and get started with your braille," Sofia smiled. "But don't worry if you mess up."

"You'll be helping her like she's learning how to help you Sof," James grinned.

"Friends do help each other if they need it," Rebecca admitted before seeing a look on Sofia's face that Amber and James were all too familiar with. "I sometimes saw that uneasy look before in class. Is Sofia okay?"

"I'll take care of it, Rebecca," Amber assured her as she led Sofia toward the bathroom. "We'll meet you and James in Sofia's room in a few minutes."

"Okay, Amber," James agreed. "Come on, Rebecca. And you don't have to worry about Buddy; he'll be outside. Just come with me, and I'll show you how we set up Sof's room."

"Okay," Rebecca agreed.

James gently squeezed her hand, seeing her nervous. Not that he blamed her.

The old her would've just sneered in annoyance and not follow him at all. Now he could see that she wanted to change.

For the better.

Sofia and Amber came back to the room a few minutes later. "Thanks for helping me, Amber," Sofia whispered. "At least I made it in time."

"You did just fine, Sofia," Amber whispered back. "You know you didn't have anything to worry about."

"Except I was thinking I might have an accident in front of Rebecca after everything we've been through today," Sofia whispered back. "Everything's been going well so far, and I didn't want to ruin it."

"You didn't ruin anything," Amber smiled. She turned to James and Rebecca. "Everything's okay, you two. Now, shall we tell Rebecca how we set up Sofia's room?"

"Sure!" James grinned, running ahead.

"I don't know," Rebecca said softly, looking at Sofia. "I might mess something up."

"We've done it before," Amber assured with a smile. "Daddy especially."

"Your dad?!" Rebecca grinned, feeling a little better. "Was this after the accident?"

"Oh, yes," Amber smirked. "Daddy was so protective of Sofia, and he wanted to keep her home from school."

"He tried bringing in people to help Sofia, but that was a big mistake...Miss Higginbottom!" James agreed.

"After he got rid of her, he agreed that since Cedric wanted to help Sofia, he should teach her how to read and write Braille, and how to navigate her way around the castle," Amber added.

"That was the best decision Dad ever made," Sofia smiled.

"So how do you set up your room Sofia?" Rebecca wondered with a smile.

"We had Penny come over and explain how to set up her room," James started. "She said that in her room, she couldn't have things on the floor that she could trip over."

"She asked Cedric to put non-slip spells on Sofia's throw rugs and pillows so she wouldn't trip over them, and Sofia asked her to do the same for her bunny Clover's bed," Amber recalled.

"He didn't like it but seemed to understand that it was for me," Sofia smiled, gently feeling her amulet.

Clover hadn't liked the idea it was true, but understood that it made Sofia at ease. He nor the other animals had like Sofia's somber tone that had followed because of the accident so the non slip spell did improve her tone little by little.

"So he's the one taking a nap!" Rebecca giggled softly, seeing Clover asleep.

"That's right," Sofia smiled. "Now, why don't we let sleeping bunnies lie, and we'll start teaching you Braille."

"Before we start, how does Buddy get along with Clover?" Rebecca asked.

"They like each other," Sofia smiled. "Clover understands that Buddy's trained to help me, and that he can't always play, but they do play with each other sometimes."

"And like Rex, Clover dose teach him things," Amber smirked, having seen the two animals together.

"He has?" Rebecca wondered, watching as James placed Sofia;s Braille book in front of her.

"I saw Clover playing on the obstacle course we set up once," James remembered. "I've also been teaching Rex to go on the obstacle course, so in case Buddy couldn't come to Royal Prep, Rex could help Sof too. I talked to Dad about that, but he said that since Rex didn't have the same kind of training as Buddy, he couldn't come to school, but he was okay with letting him lead her around the castle."

"He'd be distracted by everything if he was my guide dog," Sofia smirked.

"But where do I start first in this book? What words are the easiest?" Rebecca asked, feeling the dots.

"Let's start by teaching you the Braille alphabet," Amber suggested, giving Rebecca a card and explaining how the Braille cells worked. "That's how Cedric taught the family when we first sat in on one of Sofia's lessons. After that, we'll teach you the numbers."

"Good idea, Amber," Sofia smiled. "James, while we're doing that, could you write some sentences in Braille so Rebecca can practice those?"

"No problem," James agreed, "But are you making me do this so I can't help Rebecca?"

"Maybe," Sofia smirked.

"You wouldn't want one of us yelling at you like Cedric does do you?" Amber added.

"No. I already got enough from him," James smirked, getting the sentences ready.

"You can help me as much as you want, James," Rebecca giggled.

"For the first time we have you read something by yourself anyway," Sofia smirked.

"It'll give you practice," Amber added with a smile.

Rebecca took a deep breath, trying to focus on what she was feeling as Amber gently squeezed her shoulder.

"We all got nervous when we first learned Braille," Sofia admitted, brushing her feet against the carpet. "But I was the most nervous."

"Okay...here I go...A-B-C-D-E-F-G," Rebecca read each letter in each cell as Amber pointed to it, "H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P...I never thought I'd be learning the alphabet again!" Everyone laughed as she finished, "Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z!"

"Now you know your ABC's, now it's on to 1-2-3's!" James quipped.

"He said the same thing to me when I got the hang of doing the alphabet," Sofia giggled.

"And you two got into the deserts afterwards," Amber smirked.

"Hey! Sof thought it was a good idea!" James groaned playfully.

"Was it really?" Rebecca grinned, trying to imagine it in her head.

"We needed a little treat after a Braille lesson?" James suggested.

"Sure you did," Amber said as she started pointing out the cells that represented numbers.

"Aren't they just like the letters?" Rebecca asked in confusion. "It feels the same."

"It does. Even I still get confused with what is which," Sofia smiled, feeling Amber lead her to a chair.

"If you want, we can get Cedric to help explain the difference between the letters and numbers," James suggested.

"Maybe later," Rebecca said as she gave the cards back to him. "I don't want to cause trouble for him. I'm sure Sofia's told him about everything I did in the past."

"Don't worry, Rebecca," Sofia assured her, "Just like we told Mom and Dad that you were trying to change for the better, we told Mister Cedric too. He's willing to give you a chance, and he said that when our friends come over, he'll have them sit with me as he gives them a Braille lesson."

"I guess I'll join them," Rebecca sighed softly, seeing Clover wake up. "Even if they'll hate me."

"It'll take some convincing but you're not the person you used to be," Sofia smiled, feeling for Clover.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Rebecca," Amber smiled. "It's going to be all right. We'll stay right by your side when we visit Cedric, and when our friends are here."

"Thank you," Rebecca smiled as she gently picked Clover up and handed him to Sofia. "And you've got a really cute bunny."

"Thank you," Sofia smiled. "He and Buddy get along very well together."

"Though Clover is more of the eater than Buddy," Amber smiled, spotting Buddy through the window playing with Rex.

"If I wasn't so afraid of him, Buddy would be allowed in here," Rebecca frowned, gently petting Clover.

"Don't worry, Rebecca," Sofia assured her. "You can get used to Buddy in your own time. But you do know that he's trying to be friendly, and he was very well behaved when we were all together outside."

"That's true," Rebecca smiled. "Maybe if I come over again, Buddy won't have to stay outside."

"Let's just see how this time goes," Amber suggested. "We'll see how he reacts with more people around him, who also know you. But it should be all right. We'll even ask if the fairies can come sit in on Cedric's group Braille lesson. That way, they can see for themselves how Buddy's behaving."

"For now Clover is being friendly," James smiled, seeing the bunny relax in Sofia's arms.

"He's only that way with a few people," Sofia smiled, hearing a knock at her door.

"Can Sofia know what knock is which?" Rebecca asked, seeing Amber go to the door. "Do you guys do a pattern?"

"No, but she knows our voices since we call to her when we knock," Amber explained.

"She also told us once that she knows our footsteps," James added. "She says they're lighter than an adult's."

"Hi Dad," Sofia smiled, running over to hug him. "You forgot to call my name!"

"Amber opened the door before I could Sofia!" Roland laughed, musing her hair.

"Since she lost her sight, Sofia's hearing has gotten a lot better," James explained to Rebecca, recalling how he'd shouted in anger about Cedric following the accident, and how Sofia had been scared by the sudden noise.

"Did you say something, James?" Sofia giggled.

"Just explaining to Rebecca about your hearing," James smirked.

"Is something wrong Daddy?" Amber asked, smiling softly.

"No, but I wanted to tell you that some of your friends have gathered in the ballroom," Roland smiled. "The fairies are also here."

"I'll make sure Buddy behaves," Sofia promised.

"I know you will," Roland assured her, "And if the fairies see that he can behave himself around Rebecca, he gets to come back for the last week of school, and he'll get to go with you to Ever Realm Academy."

"That was our agreement," Sofia nodded. "But he has been pretty well behaved around Rebecca. I know that was just with us, but now comes his big test."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Buddy sniffed the ground as he lead Sofia into the throne room.

He wanted to go back to Royal Prep with her, stopping as he nuzzled Rebecca who smiled at him.

"I'm okay Buddy," Rebecca assured him, seeing him look at her. "You're a friend now."

"I just hope the other kids feel the same way," Buddy whimpered. "They know me, but they heard about me biting you! What will they say now?"

"Don't worry, Buddy," Sofia whispered. "They know why you did it, but you know they're very forgiving. Vivian even asked how you were doing the first few days after it happened."

"That's right," Buddy perked up a little, "Hugo even came over and played ball with me!"

"That's right," Sofia giggled. "Everything's going to be fine. Just stay close to me and you'll be okay."

Buddy nuzzled her at the response as Sofia felt his fur against her and giggled.

Amber and James couldn't help but smile at the interaction before watching Buddy act like the dog he was trained to be.

"Behaving yourself Buddy?" Hugo grinned, walking up towards the dog before frowning at Rebecca.

"It's okay, Hugo," Sofia spoke up, feeling Rebecca shrink back next to her. "Buddy's been very well behaved, and we've been teaching Rebecca Braille. She even knows how to set up plates for me now."

"I'm so sorry, Hugo," Rebecca murmured, "I never meant to make Sofia so upset or treat her like I did. And when the others get here, I'll explain why I did that."

"Well..." Hugo paused for a moment, "Okay. But if you pull anything while we're all here..."

"It's okay, Hugo, she knows," Amber assured him.

"Fine. But I'm still keeping an eye on you," Hugo retorted to Rebecca with crossed arms.

"I knew it! They all hate me!" Rebecca yelled with tears in her eyes as Hugo had left.

"That's not true. The rest of them haven't seen you yet," Sofia assured her with a smile.

"After everything I did, they shouldn't see me at all," Rebecca sniffed.

"Rebecca, I promise, everything is going to be all right," Amber smiled. "In fact, look; here comes Vivian. She told me she's willing to forgive you. So now's your chance to hear what she has to say."

Vivian smiled as she came up to them. "Hello, everyone," she greeted them, and she took Rebecca's hands in hers. "Rebecca, I want you to know that we really appreciate the effort you're trying to make at being a friend to Sofia."

"T-Thank you V-Vivian," Rebecca stuttered with a shy smile.

"I know how you must be feeling. Seeing everyone see you as the real you and not a bully. But you'll do okay," Vivian assured, seeing Rebecca about to cry.

When Hildegard and Cleo came up, Rebecca got a mixed reaction from them. She was happy that Cleo was willing to give her a second chance, but Hildegard was just as wary as Hugo to trust her. However, she said that since Cleo would give her a second chance, she'd be the bigger princess and give her one as well.

"Thank you, Hildegard. Thank you, Cleo," Rebecca smiled. "And Cleo, I wanted to say that I looked in at you when you were in the Performing Arts Academy tent at the school fair. You sounded wonderful when you were playing that harp!"

"Thank you, Rebecca," Cleo smiled.

"But I wonder about something," Rebecca continued, "I know James is going to Chivalry Hall, but he's great at music too. Knights don't sing...or at least I think they don't?"

"Have you met Sir Maxwell?" James grinned. "He loves singing as much as I do, and he's in charge of Chivalry Hall's Knights Chorus, which I'm part of."

"That's right," Rebecca remembered, "I saw you singing with them, and you were wonderful!"

"He's always wonderful!" Sofía giggled.

"I couldn't agree more Sofia," Rebecca smiled a little.

"Now that's surprising," Hugo smirked playfully.

"I sing with James too!" Buddy smiled, howling when everyone looked toward him.

"Sofia, are you sure you're not going to Chivalry Hall too?" Rebecca joked, "Buddy sounds like he'd fit right in with the Knights Chorus!"

"No, I'm going to Ever Realm Academy," Sofia grinned, "But maybe they'll have a chorus there that Buddy can join!"

"If not, he can make his own puppy chorus!" Amber chuckled.

"Puppy chorus?" Rebecca grinned at the idea.

"We'll think about that later Amber," James smirked. "I see the fairies."

Buddy looked especially worried now. He wanted to prove that he was good, but he was nervous. "I'll be good, I promise, Sofia!" he whimpered.

"Buddy, why don't you and Sofia come with me?" Amber whispered. "You look like you need to do your business, and you don't want to have an accident in front of everyone?"

"Thanks, Amber," Buddy whispered.

"Thanks, Amber," Sofia smiled.

After Buddy had finished his business and played with a squirrel or two, he, Amber, and Sofia were back in the throne room once again.

"Easy Buddy," Sofia shushed gently, hearing his whimpering.

"He's really nervous," Amber whispered, digging in her bag. "Good thing I brought his Sofia doll for him to chew on."

"Puppies can get nervous?" Sofia asked in surprise. "Buddy doesn't sound that way."

"Well, I've noticed that he's been worried that he'll lose control when he's near Rebecca," Amber murmured. "He'd hide behind you whenever one of our friends came, and he'd relax when they gave Rebecca a chance, he'd calm down. And do you remember when Hugo first came?" When Sofia nodded, Amber continued, "I noticed Buddy hiding his eyes in his paws, just like he did the first night after he bit her and you were talking to him."

"Buddy, you don't have to feel that way," Sofia murmured, "Yes, I was mad that you bit Rebecca, but I know why you did it. You've seen Rebecca tease me so much, and she teased you a little bit too, that you didn't believe that she'd changed. And yes, I know, you're the son of a guard dog and you're just doing what you're born to do."

"I know," Buddy whimpered. "But everything's so scary."

"Don't worry. Amber has your doll for you to chew on," Sofia assured, petting him gently.

"Can I have her now?" Buddy asked, letting out a howl.

"Sure," Sofia smiled, putting the doll at his feet. "But you shouldn't be upset. Everyone's giving Rebecca a second chance, and from what I can hear, they're all getting along really well together."

"Everything's going to be all right, Buddy," Amber smiled, scratching his ears. "Why don't you come with us when we say hello to the fairies? I'm sure Daddy's telling them about how well you're behaving, and how well you acted around Rebecca."

"Stay with me, Sofia?" Buddy whimpered.

"I've got to stay with you, Buddy; you're my guide dog!" Sofia whispered.

Buddy yelped happily, licking Sofia's hand before putting his Sofia doll in his mouth.

Chewing on her was calming him down a little bit but he couldn't help but still be nervous.

The fairies were a much bigger test.

"It's okay, Buddy," Sofia murmured as they came up to the fairies.

Buddy dropped his Sofia doll at her feet and did his bowing trick for the fairies. "Hello..." he whimpered.

"I never get tired of that charming little trick," Miss Fauna smiled, scratching him behind the ears. "Hello, Buddy, it's nice to see you again."

"We missed seeing you around Royal Prep," Miss Merryweather smiled as he licked her hands.

"I'm sorry for what I did," Buddy apologized, even though he knew the fairies couldn't understand him like Sofia could.

"The poor thing does look like he's sorry," Miss Flora noticed, petting him gently.

"He's been nervous," Sofia admitted, giving him his Sofia doll.

"We can certainly understand why," Miss Fauna smiled. "When you first brought him to Royal Prep, you told us that Buddy's the son of one of your guard dogs, and so it's only natural that he'd want to protect you if he thought you were in trouble, or he'd want to defend himself if he thought he was being threatened."

"We told the same thing to the others, and Rebecca," Sofia explained.

Buddy glanced at the fairies while he chewed on his Sofia doll.

He really was sorry for how he acted before. He didn't know that Rebecca was only trying to play with him like Sofia would.

"They forgive me...but I still want to be careful, at least for now," Buddy murmured as he nibbled on his doll.

"That's a good idea, Buddy," Sofia whispered.

"I wanna go back with you Sofia," Buddy whimpered, nuzzling against her.

"I know," Sofia understood, petting him gently. "I want you with me too."

"And you'll get the chance to have him with you again," Miss Flora smiled. "We're going to be here for the rest of the day, and we'll also be observing your royal sorcerer's Braille lesson, and if Buddy can make it from right now until we leave, he can come back with you."

"You hear that, Buddy?" Sofia whispered, "All you have to do is make it until Mr. Cedric is finished with his group Braille lesson, and you can come to Royal Prep with me again."

"I'll try my best, Sofia," Buddy whispered.

"That's all I ask, but you know you have your doll with you too, right?" Sofia smiled.

"Yep!" Buddy barked happily, putting the doll at her feet. "But I lead you first then chew on my doll!"

"Oh Buddy!" Sofia giggled, taking his leash in one hand and his doll in the other.

She tried not to feel grossed out by feeling the puppy drool on the doll but Sofia was used to Buddy's puppy kisses so in a way it was a more slobbering puppy kiss.

"Wait a minute," Rebecca whispered when she saw Cedric coming toward the group. "Sofia, I know everyone here has decided to give me a second chance, but I don't know about your royal sorcerer! How will he act around me?"

"I imagine he'll be on his best behavior," Sofia smiled. "Mom and Dad talked to him about doing this group Braille exercise, and they told him that you'd be with us. He also knew that you were spending the night, and he told me that he'd be nice to you. But he also said that if you pull anything, he threatened to turn you into a frog. But when I reminded him that Amber's scared of frogs, he told me he'd turn you into a turtle instead."

"That's nice of him...I think," Rebecca looked uneasy.

"Don't worry, Rebecca; Mom and Dad will be watching him as well, so you don't have anything to worry about," Sofia smiled, "Just stay close to me, and Buddy will protect you too."

"He won't bite me?" Rebecca asked softly.

"No! Buddy's got his doll to chew on!" Sofia giggled.

"He does like that doll a lot," Rebecca smiled but still looked uneasy.

"Yes he does," Sofia smiled. "But while we're on the subject of dogs making you uneasy, I think you should tell everyone what you told me, Amber, and James that day about the man and his dog that you met, and how it made you scared of dogs."

"You think they'll understand, or change their feelings about me?" Rebecca asked.

"I'm sure they'll understand," Sofia smiled.

"What's going on, Sofia?" Hugo asked, seeing her and Rebecca in conversation.

"Rebecca wants us to know something, Hugo," Sofia started, "Not just that she's sorry about what she's done, but she wants to tell us why she acted that way."

"I believe it when I hear it," Hugo smirked.

"It'll be the truth," Amber promised, squeezing Rebecca's hand.

"And she won't be lying about it," James added, petting Buddy gently.

"Have a seat, everyone," Rebecca started. When everyone was sitting on the grass, Rebecca began explaining about the dog who had come up to her, and how she'd been nervous around it. She then went on to explain that it was someone's guide dog. The person thought she was playing with it, when she really hadn't been doing anything, and he kept tapping her with his cane until she ran back home.

"So you thought that Sofia and Buddy would be like that too? Or Penny?" Hugo asked.

"That's right," Rebecca murmured. "I'm so sorry, everyone. I never meant to treat Sofia or Penny like that. I never even meant to say that they were faking being blind. James and Amber even told me about Sofia's accident."

"I guess I can give you a second chance," Hugo smiled.

"If Buddy can so can you Hugo," Amber grinned, seeing Buddy lick Hugo's hand happily.

"Now only Cedric is your last test," James reminded Rebecca, squeezing her hand.

"I'll be nice, I promise!" Rebecca murmured. She smiled as Buddy dropped his doll into her lap. "Thank you, Buddy!"

"My doll will help calm you down too," Buddy smiled, nuzzling against Rebecca's hand as Cedric approached.

"Buddy, Cedric's robe isn't a chew toy," James smirked, watching as Buddy tugged at Cedric's robe.

"No no Buddy. We don't do that," Amber scolded gently, putting Buddy in Sofia's lap.

"It's all right, Buddy, just lie down and pretend you're with me in my room when I'm practicing," Sofia whispered. She raised her voice, "Sorry about that, Mr. Cedric. You know how excited Buddy gets to see you."

"Indeed," Cedric smiled. He scratched Buddy behind the ears. "Yes, Buddy, it's nice to see you too, but I'm going to be teaching everyone how to read and write Braille. Sofia can't be distracted right now."

"You want me to take him for a while, Cedric?" James suggested. "I know you wouldn't want to be distracted by me whispering to Sof while she's trying to read."

"Excellent idea, Prince James," Cedric smirked.

Buddy barked excitedly at the idea, knocking James to the ground.

"I know you're excited Buddy but we can play after everyone leaves!" James chuckled, getting Buddy off of him.

"Okay!" Buddy smiled, leading him over to Rex.

Amber smiled as she described the scene to Sofia, who giggled in agreement. Amber remembered watching James play with the dogs when they were younger. One of their favorite games was pretending to be asleep, then jumping on James and licking him when he and Amber came close. James would push Amber out of the way, and he'd be the one laughing on the ground as the dogs licked him.

When Cedric saw Rebecca, he had to suppress the urge to turn her into a lizard. She'd caused so much trouble for Sofia in the past, but it was admirable that she wanted to be friends with her now.

Still he kept a watchful eye on her in case she had only tricks up her sleeve.

"I'm not gonna be used to this," Sofia whispered nervously in Amber's ear as Amber squeezed her hand.

"I know," Amber whispered back in understanding.

"Everything's going to be fine, Sofia," Hugo whispered beside her, "Just focus on what you have to do. You always tell us that Mr. Cedric says to take your time when you read your Braille."

"Indeed, young prince," Cedric smiled. "And this time she doesn't have to worry about James distracting her. Even though he's quite good when it comes to word games and puzzles, Sofia certainly doesn't need him distracting her."

"He means well, Mr. Cedric," Sofia smiled. "I appreciate him trying to help me."

"Well I would appreciate it if he kept his preying eyes on something other than your lessons," Cedric grumbled playfully.

"Mr. Cedric!" Sofia giggled. "How else can he help?"

"A lot of things Sofia," Cedric smirked, musing her hair.

"Excuse me, but are we going to learn Braille, or are we going to have to watch you two play around?" Hildegard smiled.

"You're absolutely right, Princess Hildegard," Cedric smiled, waving his wand and making a blackboard with Braille cards appear. "Now, I'm sure that you've all been given Braille cards of your own, and you've practiced so you can also help Sofia if she needs it?"

"We gave them all Braille cards when they showed interest in wanting to learn about it," Amber smiled. "Sofia, James, and I would sometimes use our time in study hall to teach our friends Braille, so if they came over, they could help Sofia too."

Cedric sighed softly in relief, giving Amber a smile before continuing as Sofia listened softly.

She wondered how James was doing with Buddy, knowing how playful the puppy could be before squeezing Rebecca's hand as she heard her sigh deeply.

"It's all right, Rebecca; you did really well for your first time naming the letters," she smiled. "And you did a pretty good job identifying the numbers."

"But I'm still mixing everything up," Rebecca admitted.

"I mixed everything up when I first started learning Braille," Sofia replied, "Mr. Cedric just says to take it slowly and ask if I need help."

"Is that for all of us too?" Rebecca wondered, becoming a little nervous.

"I'm sure Mr. Cedric wouldn't mind if you asked for help," Sofia assured with a smile.

"After all, you're kinda the slowest one here," Hildegard smiled as Rebecca frowned.

"Excuse me?!" Rebecca growled, trying to hold back her anger.

"Hildy, now's not the time or the place," Cleo murmured. "You said you'd be the bigger princess."

"And you also learned that it's alright if you don't know how to do something," Sofia added, recalling their adventure in the enchanted painting, when she taught Hildegard how to sail a boat.

"You're right," Hildegard agreed. "I'm sorry, Rebecca. I had trouble learning the Braille numbers and letters myself, and I admit that I sometimes still get them mixed up."

"It's okay," Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief. "You nearly got me upset Hildegard."

"I know," Hildegard apologized. "I forgot that you had a short temper."

"Not anymore," Rebecca admitted with a smile. "Mom and Dad have been helping me with that."

"That's good to know," Amber smiled. "Your temper was sometimes scary to experience."

"But at least you're learning to control it," Sofia agreed.

"Shouldn't we be focusing on the lesson instead of me?" Rebecca teased playfully with a smile.

"We should," Amber smirked, beginning to pay attention again.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cedric, we had a little difference of opinions, but everything's all right now," Sofia smiled, sensing Cedric's eyes on her.

"That's good, but I'm about to start teaching now," Cedric smirked.

Everyone was very interested in what Cedric was teaching. The fairies even offered to bring him to Royal Prep so he could teach a class on Braille, which would be open to all students, since they might also know blind people and want to learn more about it. ("Because after all," Miss Flora added, "Sofia and Penny won't be the first blind students to attend Royal Prep, and they certainly won't be the last.")

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Amber smiled.

"Me too," Sofia added, feeling Cedric's robe before hugging him.

The sorcerer blushed at the offer but smiled softly, patting Sofia on the head. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be where he was on.

"Wait till James hears about it," Rebecca smiled, getting up from her seat. "I think you'll be a great teacher Mr. Cedric."

"And just think," Sofia smiled, "If you do a great job teaching a class on blindness at Royal Prep, you could also teach one at Ever Realm Academy!"

"Maybe, but let's take it one step at a time, Sofia," Cedric chuckled.

Sofia pouted as Rebecca helped her down the stairs, hearing Buddy bark excitedly from down below.

She knew that it meant he missed her very much and wanted to knock her down to the ground but had to be good with the fairies and Rebecca being in the room.

Rebecca carefully extended her hand, letting Buddy sniff it. "Did you have fun with James, Buddy? I looked over at you a few times, and you and Rex seemed to be having fun together."

"I like playing with James!" Buddy smiled. "He played catch with me and Rex, and Rex and I jumped on him!"

"That's good to hear," Sofia giggled.

She felt his fur as Buddy licked her cheek, happily wagging his tail before settling down as he saw the fairies.

He wanted to make the best impression as possible. Even if it wasn't going to be easy with his puppy urges.

"It's going to be all right, Buddy," Sofia whispered, sensing his nervousness. "Like James always tells you, it's just you and me together. There's nobody else there. And besides, I think you'll just end up falling asleep anyway, like you did when Mr. Cedric had the whole family with us for their first Braille lesson."

Amber giggled beside her. "I remember that," she smiled. "Cedric saw Buddy sleeping at your feet as you started to get up when the lesson was over, and he said, 'I'm sorry my lesson bored you, Buddy, but Sofia needs these lessons!'"

"But at least the fairies didn't mind when that happened," Sofia giggled.

"That's only because we know he's a puppy," Miss Flora smiled as Buddy sniffed her. "Buddy's not going to like being at one place all the time."

"That's true. Especially when James gives him a bath," Sofia smiled at the memory. "When he first needed a bath, Buddy got so restless that he knocked over the tub he was in."

"I remember that. James ended up getting a bath too!" Amber grinned.

"But he's learning to stay calm," Sofia smiled. "He still gets distracted sometimes, but he's learning to listen to the advice we give him."

"That's great to hear," Miss Fauna smiled.

"He's getting used to me too," Rebecca added with a smile. "Whenever I've gotten upset, he's offered his toys to calm me down."

Buddy demonstrated by putting his doll in Rebecca's lap. "Would you like to play, Rebecca?" he asked.

"Good job, Buddy!" Sofia whispered.

"And he's been very well behaved throughout our visit," Miss Flora smiled.

"With that said, I think we've come to a decision," Miss Merryweather smiled.

"I get to go with you again Sofia?" Buddy barked, tugging at her dress.

"I don't know yet Buddy!" Sofia giggled.

"I think Buddy knows what we're going to say, but we're going to say it just the same," Miss Flora grinned. "Buddy is going to be allowed to come back with you to Royal Prep, Sofia, and he'll be allowed to come with you to Ever Realm Academy."

"That's wonderful!" Sofia smiled. "Congratulations, Buddy! I'm so proud of you!"

"And I hope I get to see you sometimes when I finally start Ever Realm," Rebecca agreed.

"It's okay, Rebecca; it's only for a year that you have to go to the other school," Sofia whispered. "But you can come and visit him here, and Amber and I will tell you all about it!"


End file.
